From getting locked out of her flat twice on the same day and being fired for baking a giant cookie in the shape of her boss's head, to playing bridesmaid for a friend she'd long forgotten, Sloane Crosley can do no right, despite the best of intentions. With sharp, original and irresistible storytelling that confounds expectations at every turn, Crosley recounts her victories and catastrophes, finding uproarious comedy and genuine insights in the most unpredictable places.

"I Was Told There'd Be Cake" journal notebook is perfect for to-do lists, brainstorming, or as a diary. 150 lined pages to create your way to an amazing day! Just the right size to take on the go. Makes a wonderful gift! Size: 6 x 9 inches

From the author of the sensational bestseller I Was Told There'd Be Cake comes a new book of personal essays brimming with all the charm and wit that have earned Sloane Crosley widespread acclaim, award nominations, and an ever-growing cadre of loyal fans. In Cake readers were introduced to the foibles of Crosley's life in New York City-always teetering between the glamour of Manhattan parties, the indignity of entry-level work, and the special joy of suburban nostalgia-and to a literary voice that mixed Dorothy Parker with David Sedaris and became something all its own. Crosley still lives and works in New York City, but she's no longer the newcomer for whom a trip beyond the Upper West Side is a big adventure. She can pack up her sensibility and takes us with her to Paris, to Portugal (having picked it by spinning a globe and putting down her finger, and finally falling in with a group of Portuguese clowns), and even to Alaska, where the "bear bells" on her fellow bridesmaids' ponytails seemed silly until a grizzly cub dramatically intrudes. Meanwhile, back in New York, where new apartments beckon and taxi rides go awry, her sense of the city has become more layered, her relationships with friends and family more complicated. As always, Crosley's voice is fueled by the perfect witticism, buoyant optimism, flair for drama, and easy charm in the face of minor suffering or potential drudgery. But in How Did You Get This Number it has also become increasingly sophisticated, quicker and sharper to the point, more complex and lasting in the emotions it explores. And yet, Crosley remains the unfailingly hilarious young Everywoman, healthily equipped with intelligence and poise to fend off any potential mundanity in maturity.

Sloane Crosley returns to the form that made her a household name in really quite a lot of households: Essays! From the New York Times–bestselling author Sloane Crosley comes Look Alive Out There—a brand-new collection of essays filled with her trademark hilarity, wit, and charm. The characteristic heart and punch-packing observations are back, but with a newfound coat of maturity. A thin coat. More of a blazer, really. Fans of I Was Told There’d Be Cake and How Did You Get This Number know Sloane Crosley’s life as a series of relatable but madcap misadventures. In Look Alive Out There, whether it’s playing herself on Gossip Girl,scaling active volcanoes, crashing shivas, befriending swingers, or staring down the barrel of the fertility gun, Crosley continues to rise to the occasion with unmatchable nerve and electric one-liners. And as her subjects become more serious, her essays deliver not just laughs but lasting emotional heft and insight. Crosley has taken up the gauntlets thrown by her predecessors—Dorothy Parker, Nora Ephron, David Sedaris—and crafted something rare, affecting, and true. Look Alive Out There arrives on the tenth anniversary of I Was Told There’d be Cake, and Crosley’s essays have managed to grow simultaneously more sophisticated and even funnier. And yet she’s still very much herself, and it’s great to have her back—and not a moment too soon (or late, for that matter).

The Best American Series® First, Best, and Best-Selling The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites . A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected—and most popular—of its kind. The Best American Travel Writing 2011 includes André Aciman, Christopher Buckley, Maureen Dowd, Verlyn Klinkenborg, Ariel Levy, Téa Obreht, Annie Proulx, Gary Shteyngart, William T. Vollmann, Emily Witt, and others

'Glitters with wit and wisdom' Guardian 'A thing of pure joy' Stylist 'I couldn't put it down' Grazia Back in college, Victor loved Kezia, Kezia loved Nathaniel and Nathaniel loved himself. Now, ten years on and reunited at the wedding of a friend, it’s as if nothing has changed. Almost. Victor has just been fired from a middling search engine, Kezia is second-in-command to an eccentric jewellery designer, and Nathaniel, former literary cool kid, is now one of LA’s two million aspiring TV writers. As the champagne flows, Victor finds himself sharing a bizarre encounter with the mother of the groom that triggers an obsession over a legendary necklace. Could a trip to Paris in search of the missing piece of jewellery doom or save their friendship?

A ?sassy? (USA Today), ?funny, fast-talking? (New York Daily News) ?great read? (People) that unfolds like a conversation with your bawdy best friend over a glass?or a bottle?of wine Whether she?s being greeted by the news that her brother has thrown her underwear off a Mardi Gras float, desperately trying to kick Dave Matthews out of her car before he discovers that her 6-CD changer contains six Dave Matthews CDs, or hosting a friend?s baby shower after learning that her boyfriend has impregnated another woman, Cindy Guidry writes with the ease of a born raconteur. This is the rare book that provokes both belly laughs and tears, as Guidry barrels through the obstacle course of life, refusing to see her grass as anything other than green. The Last Single Woman in America belongs on the same shelf as bestsellers like Don?t Get Too Comfortable by David Rakoff, I Was Told There?d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley, and I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron.

An autoboiography from the Internet video star covers such topics as cybersex in the early days of the Internet, the perils of eating out alone, dealing with unsolicited comments on one's weight, and learning to accept oneself--natural hair and all.

Cake: the utterly distinctive memoirs of Shane Curran. In an age when sportsmen have perfected the art of saying nothing and suppressing any trace of personality, Shane 'Cake' Curran is a beacon of light: passionate, outspoken, utterly himself. As a rare two-code goalkeeper - for Roscommon in Gaelic football and for Athlone Town in soccer - he made his own rules, soloing mesmerisingly out of goal, inventing a new style of kicking tee, and famously poaching a penalty kick a teammate had lined up in the 1989 Connacht minor final. Brave, honest and hilarious, Cake tells the story of an Irish sportsman who has lived the dream in his own utterly distinctive way. 'He was gangbusters' Chris O'Dowd 'A terrific book' Paul Kimmage 'Richly entertaining' Irish Times 'A natural storyteller' Sunday Times

Murder is always just around the corner... With an endless list of suspects, Hannah Swensen has her work cut out in Devil's Food Cake Murder, the deliciously dangerous whodunnit from Joanne Fluke. Packed full of delicious recipes and perfect for fans of M. C. Beaton and H. Y. Hanna. 'Fabulous' - Publishers Weekly Hannah Swensen has to admit life is pretty sweet. Things are going well in the romance department, and her bakery's delectable confections are selling faster than she can make them. Even her good friend Claire is head over heels with her new husband, Reverend Bob Knudson. If only they could find time to have their honeymoon. When Bob's childhood friend, Matthew Walters, offers to fill in for the Reverend, things couldn't be better. Until Hannah finds Matthew face-down in a plateful of Devil's Food Cake, with a single bullet in his head. The list of suspects is endless, but Hannah is sure of one thing: even the most half-baked murder plot can be deadly... What readers are saying about the Hannah Swensen mysteries: 'What more could you want from a cosy crime novel?' 'These books are an equal mix of charm and mystery' 'A homely series that harks back to the novels of Agatha Christie'

The Goddess Test meets Dexter in an edgy, compelling debut about one teen’s quest for revenge…no matter how far it takes her. Amelie Ainsworth is not alone in her head. Bound to a deal of desperation made when she was a child, Amelie’s mind houses the Furies—the hawk and the serpent—lingering always, waiting for her to satisfy their bloodlust. After escaping the asylum where she was trapped for years, Amelie knows how to keep the Furies quiet. By day, she lives a normal life, but by night, she tracks down targets the Furies send her way. And she brings down Justice upon them. Amelie’s perfected her system of survival, but when she meets a mysterious boy named Niko at her new school, she can’t figure out how she feels about him. For the first time, the Furies are quiet in her head around a guy. But does this mean that Amelie’s finally found someone who she can trust, or are there greater factors at work? As Amelie’s mind becomes a battlefield, with the Furies fighting for control, Amelie will have to decide which is worse: denying the only man she might ever love, or subjecting him to the fate the Furies want for him?

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Good War:A masterpiece of modern journalism and “a huge anthem in praise of the American spirit” (Saturday Review). In this “invaluable record” of one of the most dramatic periods in modern American history, Studs Terkel recaptures the Great Depression of the 1930s in all its complexity. Featuring a mosaic of memories from politicians, businessmen, artists, striking workers, and Okies, from those who were just kids to those who remember losing a fortune, Hard Times is not only a gold mine of information but a fascinating interplay of memory and fact, revealing how the 1929 stock market crash and its repercussions radically changed the lives of a generation. The voices that speak from the pages of this unique book are as timeless as the lessons they impart (The New York Times). “Hard Times doesn’t ‘render’ the time of the depression—it is that time, its lingo, mood, its tragic and hilarious stories.” —Arthur Miller “Wonderful! The American memory, the American way, the American voice. It will resurrect your faith in all of us to read this book.” —Newsweek “Open Studs Terkel’s book to almost any page and rich memories spill out . . . Read a page, any page. Then try to stop.” —The National Observer

"Welcome to Sad Stuff on the Street: The Book! With submissions from around the globe and visitors from 101 countries, this humble little blog has become the world's preeminent hub for melancholy detritus. For years, we've specialized in doll heads, board game parts, and discarded birthday cakes. You've brought us your tired, your poor, your single shoes. And now comes a physical version of this universe of meaningful trash, designed by the legendary Todd Oldham. 100% of proceeds from this book will go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. We hope you like it! -- Sloane and Greg" -- http://sadstuffonthestreet.com/bo

Pastry chef Rita Lucero's Mardi Gras party turns funereal when one of her guests is found dead after a public fight with her uncle-leaving Rita no choice but to find the real killer and clear her uncle's name...